Late Shuttle Finds Home In The Dark Delays Put Pressure On Nasa's Flight Plan

January 19, 1986|By James Fisher of The Sentinel Staff

CAPE CANAVERAL — The space shuttle Columbia, its bad luck holding out until the very end, was forced to land in darkness on the California desert Saturday because of bad weather at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Edwards Air Force Base landing means Columbia won't return to Florida for six days. NASA workers will be forced to forgo some modifications while scrambling to prepare the shuttle for a critically timed March 6 mission to study Halley's comet.

Like an eerie white ghost ship, Columbia glowed in the darkness as it touched down at 5:59 a.m. PST on a concrete runway at Edwards in the Mojave Desert. It was only the second night landing of the shuttle program.

Three hours earlier NASA had ruled out a Kennedy Space Center landing because low clouds in the area reduced visibility below NASA requirements. Weather also had canceled KSC landings Thursday and Friday.

''Welcome back to Earth, you seasoned space veterans,'' Fred Gregory, an astronaut in Houston's Mission Control, radioed the crew members as they touched down.

''Roger, Houston, seasoned by another two days,'' came the reply.

The seven crew members, including U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson of Melbourne, left the shuttle 50 minutes later, appearing healthy. Nelson, who came out last, held the stairs' handrails with both hands as he exited and waved briefly before entering the astronaut van.

He told her he did not suffer from space motion sickness during the mission, a problem that affects up to half of all space travelers. ''He sounded good and was pleased he could complete all of his experiments,'' she said.

Shuttle commander Robert ''Hoot'' Gibson also was elated.

''It sure took us a number of tries to get up in the air and it sure took us a number of tries to get back down but it was all completely worth it,'' he said a few hours after touchdown.

Columbia's record seven launch postponements and two landing delays brought it back to Earth 26 days later than planned.

Those postponements and the six-day delay to ferry the shuttle back from California are playing havoc with NASA's tight launch schedule this spring.

The 1986 manifest calls for a record 15 missions, but timing in the first half of the year is most critical because of science requirements.

Challenger's Jan. 25 launch already is three days behind schedule, and if Columbia does not lift off by March 7 it will not be able to coordinate its telescopic comet studies with European and Soviet probes that will reach Halley's the same week.

''I am optimistic we're going to come close. We have a very good shot at the sixth of March,'' said shuttle chief Jesse Moore at a KSC press conference.

Moore stressed that shuttle workers will not take any safety shortcuts because of the time pressures.

However, NASA will have to forego adding a fifth set of liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel tanks to Columbia, requiring that its mission length be cut from nine to seven days.

Even if Columbia can't coordinate its studies with the other probes, it still will be able to collect valuable data about the comet as it makes its swing around the sun, Moore said.

Columbia's crew last week met about 90 percent of the mission objectives, despite some problems, Moore said. A few experiments malfunctioned, and a balky image-brightening camera attachment cut back the quality of Halley's comet photography.

Along with conducting a variety of medical and other science work, the crew launched a $50 million communications satellite for RCA.

Moore said he was particularly pleased with the performance of Columbia, which had not flown in more than two years because of modification work.

''I consider it a very successful mission,'' he said.

Despite the delays, Moore said he was not concerned about the impression NASA made on Nelson. The congressman, who is chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees NASA's budget, was given the shuttle seat as part of his oversight responsibilites.

''I think Congressman Nelson has seen quite a bit of the shuttle program and how it operates. I'm sure it will be a very rewarding experience for him,'' Moore said. He said he was sure Nelson would have a ''very positive response.''